Tears In The Fire
by AlterationLover
Summary: A ficlet prompt. Dean has Castiel in the Angel Fire. Castiel tries to think of the last words he could potentially say on earth. And Dean just can't stop crying for the life of him. Destiel.


The flames flicker on Dean's angry irises, dancing and crackling against the green, flooding the whites of his eyes with orange and yellow light.

Castiel stands on the other side of the wall, his eyes too filled with the fire, but no anger shines from his blue eyes, only sadness, and he can't bare to look into the hunters eyes, for fear of the kind of anger and hurt he will see.

"Why, Cas?" Dean's voice breaks, and Castiel dares a glance up at the hunter, who is looking down at the flames that encircle Cas. Cas is glad, because if Dean wasn't, Cas would have fallen into his eyes and he was far too afraid of that. Death no longer scared him as much as what Dean did to him, what those green eyes did to him.

Dean turns away when Cas doesn't speak, hands cradling the back of his neck, and when he turns back, his eyes are damp, making the flames in his eyes deformed. Castiel longs to just take one step forward and hold the hunter in his arms, apologizing over and over again, telling him that it will be all right. But the fire stops him, and he's forced to stay where he is, helpless and useless.

"Goddammit!" Dean curses, grabbing an empty bottle from the desk and hurling it at the wall, where it shatters, glass flying in every direction.

"I-I'm sorry, Dean," Cas manages to choke out, his voice raspy and uneven. The hunter turns towards him, and his eyes are full of anger and slight fear, as well as tears. One slips down his cheek, falling to the floor quickly, so fast that if Cas had blinked, he would have missed it.

"Sorry doesn't cut it," Dean says furiously, marching from one side of the room to the other, water clinging to his lower lashes, for reasons Castiel doesn't truly understand. Why would Dean be the one who is crying?

"You betrayed us, you goddamn sonuvabitch," Dean looks straight at Cas, and he can't help it- Castiel's gaze meets with Dean's, and that's it. The words that he'd been planning for so long, but couldn't think of appeared instantly, like butterflies hatching out of a chrysalis, and Cas only has to think for a moment before he sets them free, letting them fly over to Dean. Castiel knows he might not have another chance.

"I know," he whispered, his voice faint against the crackling of the fire, "But I'm not sorry. I did it for you, to save you. Everything I've ever done has been for you,"

Dean stands in total silence, staring at the angel inside the ring of fire, just watching as he speaks.

"What… what are you saying?" Dean chokes, eyes welling up again as more tears drift down his face, slower this time, with more feeling.

Castiel chuckles, smiling slightly as his gaze flickers down before he brings his eyes back up to meet with Dean's again.

"Do you honestly not know?" his voice is so soft, like a moth's wings, but it drifts through the air, and Dean can hear it as though Castiel is whispering it directly into his ear.

When Dean doesn't respond, Castiel sits down, crouched on his knees, and the hunter follows shortly after. The heat from the holy fire is strong, but Cas hardly notices.

"Dean Winchester," the angel speaks over the flames, "Everything I do is for you. You are all that matters to me. I betrayed you to _keep you safe_. I come to you every time you call, and I always will, if you still want me,"

Dean can't speak, like Castiel's words have plugged his throat, stopping any words from coming out, so he sits in silence, staring through the flames at the angel. The tears are still falling, faster than ever, but he doesn't try to hide them, or wipe them off of his face. He just lets them fall to the floor, where they evaporate quickly in the heat of the flames.

"I have never done anything that would put you in danger, nor will I ever. You mean more to me than anyone else on Heaven or Earth. There is nothing I would not do for you, even if it meant my own demise,"

"I will always be here for you, and it is my job to watch over you," Cas's eyes drift from Deans to land on his left shoulder, where, beneath Dean's shirt, Castiel's handprint lies, "You're mine,"

With those last words, Dean moves, taking Castiel's face in his hand and bringing it to his own over the flames of the holy fire. Their lips meet, and the salt from Dean's tears slip into Cas's mouth, but he doesn't move or pull away. He wishes he could pull closer; to pull Dean into an embrace, but the fire stands as a barrier, as a fence between them. He can reach through the fence, but not walk through.

Tears continue to cascade from Dean's lashes, but he takes no notice as he kisses Cas, letting them just fall to the floor, mixing in with the dancing flames of the fire.


End file.
